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Archiver > ESSEX-ROOTS > 1997-06 > 0865344241


From: jdresser< >
Subject: Three Sovereigns for Sarah
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 1997 09:24:01 -0400


While I recall the above PBS movie as being well constructed, the author of
"The Crucible" will be the first to tell you that he was not contrained by
the facts of the 1692 trials while writing his play....he wrote it to
entertain while making a statement about the human condition, and artistic
license gives him the flexibility to alter facts to fit drama. The recent
movie, while employing Arthur Miller to write the screenplay, was another
step on the entertainment path, not the information path. Both should be
enjoyed as the products they are, but not used to gather knowledge about a
painful time in our history.

The Salem trials are extremely well documented, both by researchers who
tried gallantly 150 years ago to preserve the records still existing, and
by current historians, etc. who have continued to analyze the time. I
would highly recommend the following as only a few among many books worthy
of your time if you are interested in learning about Salem Village,
American 'witches', or the everyday life of our ancestors in Essex County
in the late 1600's - it was not a pretty time!

Boyer, P. and S. Nissenbaum. Salem Possessed: The Origins of Witchcraft. 1974
Demos, J. P. Entertaining Satan: Witchcraft and the Culture of Early New
England, 1982.
Hubbard, W. Witch-Hunting in Seventeenth Century New England: A Documentary
History, 1638-1692., 1991.
Kamensky, J. "Words, Witches, and Women Trouble: Witchcraft, Disorderly Speech,
and Gender Boundaries in Puritan New England" in Essex Institute
Historical Collections, 1992.
Karlsen, C. F. The Devil in the Shape of a Woman: Witchcraft in Colonial New
England, 1987.
Larner, C. Witchcraft and Religion: The Politics of Popular Belief, 1984.
Mappen, M. Witches and Historians: Interpretations of Salem, 1980.
Mather, Cotton Being the Wonders of the Invisible World: On Witchcraft, 1692
(this is one of the local ministers rationalization for the hysteria)
Calef, R. "More Wonders of the Invisible World" from Narratives of the
Witchcraft Cases 1648-1706., 1914 (an answer to Mather's stand, above)
Orion, L. Never Again the Burning Times: Paganism Revived., 1995.
Upham, C. W. Salem Witchcraft: With an Account of Salem Village and A History
of Opinions on Witchcraft and Kindred Subjects, 1976, 1868. (Documents
from the trials and depositions.)
Woodward, W. E. Records of Salem Witchcraft: Copied frm the Original Documents,
1969, 1864.

I found the above to be very informative in searching for information about
my ancestor, one of those executed as a 'witch'. However, this truly is a
tip of the iceburg - there is much written on the time and the trials and
the social situations leading up to the trials. All the above are
available through inter-library loan, and some may well be in your local
library. All and much more are available in Salem and the surrounding
towns, always worth a visit!

Good luck, and have fun.

Jane

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